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Nokia N96
Nokia N96 is the 2nd latest Nokia smartphone in the Nseries range of products. It is the official successor to Nokia N95. The handset was publicly announced at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 2008, and started shipping in September 2008. Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific are the first locations to provide the handset for consumers. The American and Chinese versions were expected shortly thereafter. The general UK release date for the N96 was October 1, although London had a separate date of September 24 when the device went on sale exclusively at Nokia's flagship stores on Regent Street and at Terminal 5 (Heathrow airport). Specification sheet Major differences between N95 8GB and N96 Additions: * Dual-LED camera flash (single LED in the N95 8GB) * New audio DSP * Longer music playback time (14 hrs) and video playback time (6 hrs) * Windows Media WMV9 video codec added * Hardware acceleration for video codecs for H.264 and WMV * Mobile TV DVB-H 1.0 receiver built in * S60 3rd Edition is upgraded from Feature Pack 1 to Feature Pack 2 * linu v88.0.12.0 * The Java ME engine is upgraded from MIDP 2.0 to MIDP 2.1 * User data is preserved when upgrading firmware (this feature is also present on the N95-2 as v21 installs UDP base files) * Open C/C++ support * New QuickOffice application opens all types of Microsoft Office files * New version of Nokia Video Centre (show & edit videos) * New release of Nokia Experience software * Micro 2.0 Hi-Speed USB (write 3 Mbit/s, read 4.1 Mbit/s - N95 8GB use full-speed USB) * MicroSD memory card slot (as in original N95, while N95 8GB has no card slot) * RSS 2.1 Reader * FM radio upgraded with RDS * N96 is a dual-band HSDPA (900 and 2100MHz, while N95 was a single band 2100MHz) * No need to open the slide for optimal GPS reception * Nokia N96 has VGA front camera (N95 8G has CIF) * Video Flash lightguns * Upgraded Bluetooth stereo audio * FOTA (Firmware Over the Air) * OMA E-mail Notification v1.0 * OMA Device Management v1.2 * OpenGL ES 1.1 plugin * Dual Transfer Mode (MSC 11) * Support SPP Bluetooth profiles Negative: *CPU: N96 has dual ARM9 264MHz with no floating point instructions (N95 has dual ARM11 332Mhz with vector floating point) *N96 has 8x image digital zoom and 4x video digital zoom (while N95 has 20x digital zoom and 8x video digital zoom). Although the benefits of this is debatable. * Same battery as original N95 (950 mAh), but the N96 reportedly has a much better battery life using the same battery due to software improvements under Feature Pack 2 (Nokia N95 8GB has 1200 mAh) * No hardware 3D graphics accelerator * No infrared port * No light sensor to adjust screen brightness when outside * N95 classic has lens cover and much more qualitative shutter (N95 8G/N96 don't have this feature) * No manually selected MMS messaging mode. If you write a long text message it will automatically select the MMS mode which could stop the recipient from receiving the message if they do not have MMS set up on their handset. (A Nokia USA employee stated that there is an update in the works to fix this very soon ) It's assumed that this automatic selection of MMS mode is due to Nokia's Smart Connectivity) * VoIP 2.1 support for WLAN and Cellular. However, the built-in VoIP client from N95 which allowed the end-user to make internet calls directly without installing any additional software has been removed from N96. Nevertheless, the VoIP API still exists which can be used by software developers in their applications. * The pencil button that is used to mark/unmark items and highlight text is not included. But this action can still be done however, by pressing and holding down the # key'. Clones and Copies The N96 has been widely copied. Although several types of copies seem to exist they all have a common thread. They all lack A-GPS, and have a sub-standard camera. Nokia.cn lists in the specifications for the N96 a 5 MP camera as well as A-GPS. Nokia's Asian site lists these same specifications and includes WiFi as well. The copies and clones that lack those features that claim to be "China Version" are just that - clones and copies - not original and not Nokia. Beginning in late December, 2008 and continuing some offered the unauthorised replicas as being "Made in Malaysia" as the cause for the devices not have wifi and GPS capability. For examples search eBay using "Nokia N96 -5mp -16gb" and several dozen of these poor camera, GPS-less clones will come to your notice. Beginning about 26 December 2007 the number clone and copy Nokia N96 devices advertised as being Nokia N96 devices dropped rather suddenly. Less than a half dozen of these were available on 28 December 2008. The number of items returned by this search was 35 but it was obvious from variations in listing such as "16 GB" rather than "16GB" and similar variations that many were genuine. External links * Original Press Release, Americas Press Release * N96 specifications from Nokia Europe